Company going bankrupt

iceblink

Hey guys

I wanted to ask for help and advice, My problem is I ordered 2 items from pellpax.co.uk a few weeks ago (Aug 7th) using my Halifax Visa debit card for goods totalling £136..

Fast forward 2 weeks no word, sent a few emails, few phone calls that went unanswered, started to get concerned..

Anyway today I get a call from Pellpax saying they're going bankrupt :eek: in 2 days?? and my order won't be fulfilled.. I asked about the chance of a refund he said to take it up with my credit card company..

Anyway as I paid via debit card I phoned Halifax and started a dispute/chargeback, but as these people have gone bankrupt I'm not sure what my chances are? I won't hear for 7-10 working days but am I screwed? I know credit cards offer some protection but as I used a debit card, and there's bankruptcy involved.. well just wondered if anyone has experienced a similar situation or knows what I should expect.

Really !!!!ed off as 136 quid is a lot to me, oh and pellpax.co.uk is still up and functional as far as I can tell, and still taking orders through their site. Is that even legal? :mad:

Wywth

iceblink wrote: »

Hey guys

I wanted to ask for help and advice, My problem is I ordered 2 items from pellpax.co.uk a few weeks ago (Aug 7th) using my Halifax Visa debit card for goods totalling £136..

Fast forward 2 weeks no word, sent a few emails, few phone calls that went unanswered, started to get concerned..

Anyway today I get a call from Pellpax saying they're going bankrupt :eek: in 2 days?? and my order won't be fulfilled.. I asked about the chance of a refund he said to take it up with my credit card company..

Anyway as I paid via debit card I phoned Halifax and started a dispute/chargeback, but as these people have gone bankrupt I'm not sure what my chances are? I won't hear for 7-10 working days but am I screwed? I know credit cards offer some protection but as I used a debit card, and there's bankruptcy involved.. well just wondered if anyone has experienced a similar situation or knows what I should expect.

Really !!!!ed off as 136 quid is a lot to me, oh and pellpax.co.uk is still up and functional as far as I can tell, and still taking orders through their site. Is that even legal? :mad:

A company can't just 'go bankrupt', especially in 2 days time.

There is no indication on companies house that the business is in any form of financial trouble (e.g. no receiver appointed, not in liquidation, etc)

If the management are trading yet incurring accruing debts that they believe they cannot ever be satisfied, that would be wrongful trading and the director(s) could be held personally liable.

The debit card company won't get into any legal disputes on your behalf, but in the absence of receiving the goods (and presumably the supplier won't contest this) then I'm sure they will try perform a chargeback for you.

iceblink

Wywth wrote: »

A company can't just 'go bankrupt', especially in 2 days time.

There is no indication on companies house that the business is in any form of financial trouble (e.g. no receiver appointed, not in liquidation, etc)

If the management are trading yet incurring accruing debts that they believe they cannot ever be satisfied, that would be wrongful trading and the director(s) could be held personally liable.

The debit card company won't get into any legal disputes on your behalf, but in the absence of receiving the goods (and presumably the supplier won't contest this) then I'm sure they will try perform a chargeback for you.

Hmm strange! The guy who called me from Pellpax exact words were "We're going bankrupt in 2 days time, so we won't be able to deliver your order. You can either a) Pick up the goods from their shop (in Norfolk, i'm in Yorkshire so that's a no go, within 2 days or b) They'll pass my details onto their "receivers" and i can liaise directly with them in 2 days time.

So are they just trying to fob me off, get my money and hope I won't take it further or what? I'll leave it to the bank to get to the bottom of it then, hopefully they will side with me as I haven't received my goods and they've taken my money

Thanks for the reply/info!

InsideInsurance

It is a companies responsibility to try and avoid insolvency and in part that does mean continue selling however when all reasonable hope is lost they must cease trading otherwise they're guilty of wrongful trading and the directors who made the choice to continue trading despite the lack of prospects become personally liable.

At present, looking at the Companies House and the London Gazette, the company is not in insolvency procedures yet but it may well be that a creditor is about to force their hand. Its written more for a company director than a customer but http://www.lawdonut.co.uk/law/finance-and-strategy/dealing-with-insolvency/insolvency-20-faqs gives some of the basisc

As an unsecured creditor you are fairly low on the list for repayment and so your chances of getting anything back if the chargeback fails is relatively slim.

InsideInsurance

iceblink wrote: »

Hmm strange! The guy who called me from Pellpax exact words were "We're going bankrupt in 2 days time, so we won't be able to deliver your order.

Companies become insolvent not bankrupt.

It could well be that a creditor gave them a statutory demand which would give them 21 days to pay or else the creditor can issue court proceedings for a compulsory winding up. So a date can be known but there is always uncertainty about if someone will actually carry out their threats or not etc.

Plus you can get vexatious compulsory winding up orders issued to courts over silly little debts which a company would have no issues repaying but haven't so the claimant takes this route.

iceblink

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Companies go insolvent not bankrupt.

It could well be that a creditor gave them a statutory demand which would give them 21 days to pay or else the creditor can issue court proceedings for a compulsory winding up. So a date can be known but there is always uncertainty about if someone will actually carry out their threats or not etc.

Plus you can get vexatious compulsory winding up orders issued to courts over silly little debts which a company would have no issues repaying but haven't so the claimant takes this route.

Interesting info, thanks

I could have swore the guy used the word bankrupt but that may just be him using simplified terms so I knew where he was coming from.

I do think it's pretty low for a company to be trading as of Aug 8th then pull this 2 weeks later, to get out of completing their side of the transaction.

I've researched a bit on this and apparently Halifax are pretty good at handling chargebacks so hopefully I'll get a good outcome. I also have the rewards account debit card but I'm unsure if that offers extra protection with stuff like this.

InsideInsurance

iceblink wrote: »

I could have swore the guy used the word bankrupt but that may just be him using simplified terms so I knew where he was coming from.

It obviously depends who he is, it could be some poor customer service guy who's about to lose his job, isnt sure if he'll get paid and is just repeating the terms he's heard banded about the office.

dalesrider

iceblink wrote: »

I've researched a bit on this and apparently Halifax are pretty good at handling chargebacks so hopefully I'll get a good outcome. I also have the rewards account debit card but I'm unsure if that offers extra protection with stuff like this.

Pretty easy non receipt chargeback.
No the reward card does not offer any extra protection.

Makes no difference id the company is trading or not, neither does lack of funds. as your chargeback comes from their merchant bank. Who will then get their pound of flesh another way.